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  • Press Release

    AAMC Statement on Guilty Verdict of Derek Chauvin

    Media Contacts

    John Buarotti, Sr. Public Relations Specialist

    AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO David J. Skorton, MD, issued the following statement on the guilty verdict of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd:

    "Today our nation held its breath as it waited for the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd. The verdict of guilty on all three counts delivered a measure of justice in a case that has held worldwide attention and moved our country closer to a racial reckoning that has been centuries in the making.

    Although this verdict was a relief to those seeking accountability for the terrible circumstances that caused the needless murder of another Black person at the hands of police, no verdict or judgment can bring George Floyd back. Our thoughts continue to be with his family.

    This trial is the culmination of but one story — a single example of a situation that plagues Black people in our society. We have much work to do to ensure that someday this type of incident will cease to be a part of life for the Black community. We must hasten the coming of that day, and those of us in health care have a special role to play.

    As a precursor to many of the social determinants of health, racism is itself a public health crisis. I call on colleagues throughout academic medicine to join in the hard and urgent work that must be done to increase the likelihood of peaceful, safe, and healthy lives for all members of our society by putting an end to the violence of the type that took George Floyd’s life, intentionally changing the living conditions that are themselves risk factors for poor health outcomes, and eliminating health inequities from these and myriad other factors. The time to act is now."


    The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) is a nonprofit association dedicated to improving the health of people everywhere through medical education, health care, medical research, and community collaborations. Its members are all 158 U.S. medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education; 13 accredited Canadian medical schools; approximately 400 academic health systems and teaching hospitals, including Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 70 academic societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC leads and serves America’s medical schools, academic health systems and teaching hospitals, and the millions of individuals across academic medicine, including more than 193,000 full-time faculty members, 96,000 medical students, 153,000 resident physicians, and 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences. Following a 2022 merger, the Alliance of Academic Health Centers and the Alliance of Academic Health Centers International broadened participation in the AAMC by U.S. and international academic health centers.